CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE IN ANOREXIA NERVOSA AND BULIMIA NERVOSA: A PILOT STUDY

• NCJ Number: 145814
• Journal: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Volume: 32 Issue: 5 Dated: (September 1993) Pages: 962-966
• Author(s): D B Herzog; J E Staley; S Carmody; W M Robbins; B A van der Kolk
• Date Published: 1993
• Length: 5 pages
• Grant Number(s): R01-MH38333
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Mental Health
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The aims of this pilot study were to determine the feasibility and scientific merit of coordinating a large- scale investigation of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) in outpatient eating-disordered women and to evaluate the usefulness and potential adverse effects of a semistructured trauma interview.

Abstract

Twenty subjects were selected randomly from a cohort of 229 women with anorexia nervosa and/or bulimia nervosa who were participating in a longitudinal outcome study of eating disorders. The 20 women were assessed with the traumatic antecedents interview (TAI), and a brief, semistructured followup interview was administered by telephone 3 to 8 weeks after the first interview. Subjects also completed the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES). TAI responses indicated that 13 subjects (65 percent) reported CSA, and those with more comorbidity reported CSA more frequently. Subjects with a history of CSA had significantly higher scores on the DES. It was determined that the high compliance rate, the high prevalence of CSA, and high DES scores in the pilot sample support further study of CSA in a larger sample. 35 references and 1 table